Interview with VOA, Former Deputy Secretary General of IAEA, Oli Hainonen
“If you don’t return to the North Korean NPT, you can’t build a reactor”
Oli Hainonen is a researcher at the Stimson Center, USA. Hankyoreh materials
Amidst the controversy continued after the release of the’North Korean nuclear power plant construction promotion plan’ by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, an expert from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that a nuclear power plant is not a facility that can be built through independent discussions between the two Koreas. “A nuclear power plant is not a kind of facility that the two Koreas can independently discuss and build.” There are a lot of technical aspects such as field surveys and technical permits,” the Voice of the United States (VOA) said on the 2nd. Researcher Hainonen said, “Even if you build a nuclear power plant in Korea, which has its own reactor design, you have to import many parts from abroad or sign an overseas license agreement. You need to get permission from your country, among them the United States. It is impossible to build a nuclear power plant independently in North Korea without such a procedure.” “Even if you build a nuclear power plant, it costs an extra cost to build a power grid to supply power in North Korea.” “The amount of money 20-30 years ago, when the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was planning such 5582 billion won), so now it will cost much more.” Researcher Hainonen also emphasized that North Korea must return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to build a nuclear reactor on North Korea’s land. “The thing to remember is that North Korea cannot build nuclear reactors on North Korean soil unless it returns to the NPT. It is also a condition of the nuclear export control system. On the very day when a nuclear reactor is built in North Korea, North Korea must not only be a member of the NPT, but also adhere to the agreement on nuclear safety measures.” Heinonen also pointed out that “UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 2397 block certain nuclear-related activities in North Korea, and most importantly, it stipulates that all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs should be immediately abolished.” Regarding the plan to build a nuclear power plant in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) included in the Ministry of Industry document, the researcher Hainonen said, “Because cooling water is required for the operation of the reactor, the location should be near the East Sea or the West Sea.” “At this point, it is more important to reveal how realistic the nuclear power plant construction plan is,” he said. “Another concern is the security issue. It is also necessary to consider that there are risks if inter-Korean relations deteriorate while nuclear power plants are built near the border.” By Kim Min-je, staff reporter [email protected]